Zambia human rights activist acquitted after pro-gay remarks

JOHANNESBURG — Legal activists say a Zambian human rights worker has been acquitted in a Lusaka court of charges related to comments he made in support of the rights of gay people.

Paul Kasonkomona

The Southern Africa Litigation Centre, based in Johannesburg, hailed Tuesday’s acquittal of Paul Kasonkomona as a boost for freedom of expression in Zambia.

Last year, Kasonkomona was arrested after saying on a television program that the rights of groups including gays and sex workers should be recognized as a way of dealing with the virus that causes AIDS. He was accused of immoral conduct.

The Johannesburg litigation center says the magistrate in the case found that the government had failed to prove its case.